Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Housing: Construction

Tahir Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that house building targets are met.

Lee Rowley: I refer the Hon Member to the written statement of 19 December 2023 entitled The Next Stage in Our Long Term Plan for Housing Update (HCWS161).

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Power Failures

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether there have been any power cuts on their Department's property in each of the last three years.

Simon Hoare: DLUHC does not maintain a central register of power cuts.

Buildings: Health And Safety

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Answer of 23 May 2023 to Question 185728 on Buildings: Health and Safety, whether officials have concluded their review of British Standard BS 40102-1:2023 entitled Health and well-being and indoor environmental quality in buildings.

Lee Rowley: The Building Safety Regulator has a duty to keep the safety and standard of buildings under review. As part of this work the Regulator has considered the content of BS 40102-1:2023. The Regulator does not consider that any actions are needed at this time as a result of this assessment.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Bovine Tuberculosis: Vaccination

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress he has made on field trials of bovine TB vaccination of cattle; and what his planned timescale is for a full roll-out of a vaccine.

Mark Spencer: Developing a vaccine against TB in cattle is one of the government’s top priorities. Defra aims to have a deployable cattle TB vaccine (‘CattleBCG’) and a new companion DIVA skin test (to detect infected among vaccinated animals) in the next few years. Field trials of the CattleBCG vaccine and the DIVA skin test started in 2021 and are ongoing. Final deployment will rely on the success of the ongoing field trials, achieving UK Marketing Authorisations from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) (for both CattleBCG and the companion DIVA skin test), gaining international recognition through the World Organisation of Animal Health (WOAH) and our trading partners for both products, an IT system to record and trace vaccinated cattle, and acceptance of vaccination from stakeholders across the supply chain. Defra is working closely with industry to co-design policy proposals.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Jagtar Singh Johal

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what representations the Government has made to the Government of India on the (a) treatment of and (b) access to justice for Jagtar Singh Johal.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his Indian counterpart on the (a) detention of Jagtar Singh Johal, (b) length of his detention without charge and (c) allegations of his torture.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The UK Government has consistently raised our concerns about Mr Johal's case directly with the Government of India, including his allegations of torture and mistreatment, and his right to a fair trial. The UK Government regularly raises Mr Johal's case with Indian counterparts and will continue to do so. The Prime Minister raised Mr Johal's case with Prime Minister Modi on 9 September in the margins of the New Delhi G20 Leaders' Summit. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia, regularly raises Mr Johal's case with the Government of India, including with External Affairs Minister Jaishankar on 13 November. The former Foreign Secretary raised Mr Johal's case with Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar on 1 March. As Home Secretary he also raised Mr Johal's case with External Affairs Minister Jaishankar again on 13 November. The UK Government remains committed to seeing Mr Johal's case resolved as soon as possible.

Gaza: Civilians

Tahir Ali: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the statement by the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs that there are no safe areas for the civilian population in Gaza.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We are deeply concerned by the high loss of civilian life in Gaza and widespread destruction. To help alleviate the crisis, the Foreign Secretary has announced a further £30 million worth of humanitarian assistance, bringing it to a total of £60 million, and the UK has additionally delivered 74 tonnes of aid to date, but there is still more to do. We have been consistent in supporting a sustainable ceasefire, and will endeavour to continue to get aid into Gaza on a sustained basis now that the truce has ended. The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have repeatedly stressed to Israeli leaders that they must abide by International Humanitarian Law and protect all civilians as far as possible, regardless of whether or not they are in safe areas, spaces or zones. The Prime Minister has also pressed Israel to ensure its campaign is targeted against Hamas fighters and military objectives.

Israel Defense Forces: British Nationals Abroad

Afzal Khan: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an estimate of the number of British nationals fighting alongside the Israeli Defence Force since 7 October 2023.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an estimate of the number of British nationals that have fought alongside the Israeli Defence Force in each of the last ten years.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We are aware of reports of UK citizens travelling to fight for the Israel Defence Force (IDF), but the Government does not estimate the numbers of those who have done so. The UK recognises the right of British nationals with additional nationalities to serve in the legitimately recognised armed forces of the country of their other nationalities. The IDF is a recognised armed force and British nationals are both able to volunteer into the IDF and eligible for national service. For Israel, one does not have to be Israeli to serve in the IDF.FCDO travel advice provides British nationals with information on the risks of travelling or living abroad, including in Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories, and this guidance can be found on Gov.uk via the below links;Israel: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/israel/safety-and-securityOccupied Palestinian Territories: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/the-occupied-palestinian-territories/safety-and-security

UN General Assembly: Finance

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether the Government plans to vote in favour of establishing a budget for the Member State-led, intergovernmental committee at the United Nations General Assembly Fifth Committee.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UN's Fifth Committee (Administration and Budget) is a technical committee which applies appropriate resources to UN mandates and seeks agreement amongst the broadest possible consensus. The UK encourages budget discipline across the UN System and calls for the appropriate level of funding for agreed mandates.

Gaza: Genocide

Dan Carden: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2023 to Question 3317 on Gaza: Genocide, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of the finding of the International Commission of Jurists that the threshold to trigger States' duty under international law to take measures to prevent acts of genocide has been reached in Gaza.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: It is the UK's longstanding policy that any judgment as to whether genocide has occurred is a judicial decision rather than a Government decision. Competent courts include international courts, such as the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice, and national criminal courts that meet international standards of due process. We have consistently called on Israel to respect International Humanitarian Law regarding its operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Occupied Territories: Visas

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how visa applicants from the Occupied Palestinian Territories can contact HM Embassy Cairo for approval for exit at Rafah to facilitate (a) visa application interviews and (b) biometric processing at a visa application centre.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Visa Application Centres, where interviews and biometric processing take place, are open and operating in Egypt, in both Cairo and Alexandria, and an application can be started online at any time. British nationals travelling from Gaza to Egypt that require visas for their eligible dependents can apply online and then visit the Visa Application Centre in Cairo to provide their biometric details. In addition, existing UK visa holders who have a spouse/partner or a child aged 17 or under currently living in the UK and hold valid permission to enter or remain in the UK for longer than 6 months criteria can also contact the FCDO to request support to leave Gaza. Palestinians in Gaza who want to apply for a UK visa but are not a dependent of a British National are not currently eligible for our assistance. The FCDO Consular Contact Centre can be contacted on 020 7008 5000. Further advice on travelling to Egypt from Gaza is available at: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/israel

Israel: Palestinians

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will seek assurances from Israel that Palestinians in Gaza will not be permanently displaced.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We are gravely concerned about the desperate situation in Gaza, and at the scale of civilian deaths and displacement. We maintain a continuous dialogue with Israel on the humanitarian situation, including in relation to the displacement of Palestinian civilians. As the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have both discussed with the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israel must abide by International Humanitarian Law and take every effort to protect civilians. Ultimately, there must be a political solution: a two-state solution which provides justice and security for both Israelis and Palestinians. Leaving Hamas in power in Gaza would be a permanent roadblock on the path to a two-state solution.

Gaza: Israel

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what diplomatic steps he is taking with international partners to work towards a cessation of hostilities in Israel and Gaza.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what diplomatic steps he is taking with international partners to help resume the humanitarian pause in Gaza.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Israel has a right to self-defence and needs to be able to address the threat posed by Hamas, in a manner that abides by International Humanitarian Law. We support a sustainable ceasefire and continue to press both at the UN and directly with Israel for unhindered humanitarian access and substantive humanitarian pauses that allow aid to enter and British nationals to leave.

Israel and Occupied Territories: Arms Trade

Dan Carden: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2023 to Question 5891 on Israel and Occupied Territories: Arms Trade, when his Department plans to publish an update to export licensing statistics for Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Dan Carden: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many assessments his Department has made of the implications for his policies of (a) the obligations under Articles 6 and 7 of the International Arms Trade Treaty and (b) criteria one and two of the UK’s Strategic Export Licensing Criteria in relation to exports to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories since 7 October 2023.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: In 2022, we granted 114 Standard Individual Export Licences (SIELs) for military goods valued at up to £42 million to Israel. The Department for Business and Trade, as the Licensing Authority, produce export licensing statistics for all countries. These are issued quarterly and the next set of statistics will be released in January.Every export licence application is considered on a case by case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. As part of these assessments we take into account the nature of the equipment to be exported, the end user/s, and how the equipment is likely to be used. We also take into account our international commitments and obligations, which include the International Arms Trade Treaty. All licences are kept under careful and continual review as standard. We are able to suspend, refuse or revoke licences as circumstances require.

Afghanistan: Development Aid

Sarah Champion: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to paragraph 199 of the Guide to Parliamentary Work, published by the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons, if he will he make an assessment of the adequacy of his Department’s performance against that paragraph in his Answer of 21 November 2023 to Question 1578 on Afghanistan; and if he will take steps to improve the adherence of his Department to the principles set out in that Guide.

Leo Docherty: The FCDO holds data on how much aid we have provided for Afghanistan and our commitment to ensure that at least 50 per cent of those reached with our aid are women and girls. The FCDO does not hold the breakdown of how much UK aid has been allocated specifically to women-led organisations based in Afghanistan. We have not withheld information on funding allocations. The department is confident that the answer provided to PQ 1578 adequately meets the guidelines laid down by the Leader of the Commons in the Guide to Parliamentary Work.The FCDO attaches great importance to the effective handling of Written Parliamentary Questions (WPQs) and recognises the importance of Parliamentary scrutiny.

Department for Business and Trade

Horticulture: Environment Protection

Dame Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will take steps to extend eligibility for business improvement funding provided by her Department to the environmental horticulture sector.

Kevin Hollinrake: Government offers extensive business support, with over 40 accessible offers to businesses, including in the horticulture industry.Our Business Support Helpline and Growth Hubs provide advice, guidance, and signposting. Help to Grow: Management offers practical support to improve leadership and management capability. Businesses can access government-backed financial support from the British Business Bank.Support for the edible and ornamental (environmental) horticulture sectors is provided through Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme; all but one of its thematic competitions are in scope for these sectors. The Tree Production Capital Grant funds domestic tree seed and sapling production by supporting expansion, automation, and mechanization.

Department for Business and Trade: Power Failures

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether there have been any power cuts on their Department's property in each of the last three years.

Kevin Hollinrake: Since its inception in February 2023 under the recent machinery of government changes, the Department for Business and Trade has not experienced any power cuts affecting the properties it uses.The Government Property Agency, who own, manage, and operate all of the property assets the Department uses, are responsible for assessing and mitigating the risk of power cuts to buildings.

Timesharing: Misrepresentation

Alyn Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent steps he has taken with Cabinet colleagues to help protect consumers from being mis-sold timeshare arrangements.

Alyn Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent consumers being mis-sold timeshare agreements.

Alyn Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions his Department has had with industry stakeholders on tackling (a) misrepresentation and (b) aggressive sales of holiday timeshares.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Timeshare, Holiday Products, Resale and Exchange Contracts Regulations 2010, as amended in 2018, provide consumers with robust protections relating to the sale, marketing and content of timeshare contracts. We keep the system under review and engage with industry representatives as appropriate.Furthermore, the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (2008), which prohibit unfair commercial practices, are being restated in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill, currently in Parliament. Unfair commercial practices include misleading actions and omissions which are likely to persuade consumers into taking decisions they otherwise would not have.

Ministry of Justice

Homicide: Offenders

Sarah Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders were subsequently convicted of murder by index sentence in each financial year between 2010-11 and 2015-16.

Edward Argar: Serious Further Offences (SFOs) are rare. Fewer than 0.5% of offenders under statutory supervision are convicted of SFOs. Nonetheless, every single SFO is taken extremely seriously, and in all cases a review is carried out to identify any improvements that need to be made in the management of future cases.We have increased funding for the Probation Service by an additional £155m a year to recruit staff, bring down caseloads and deliver better supervision of offenders in the community.We have exceeded our recruitment targets for the last three years. As a result, over 4,000 trainee probation officers joined the Probation sService between 2020/21 and 2022/23, which we anticipate will start to reduce the number of cases held by a probation officer at any one time, with all the benefits which that brings in terms of the quality of risk assessment and risk management. The table below sets out the total number of convictions where an offender subject to probation supervision was charged with a SFO which resulted in a conviction for murder, for all cases notified to HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2014. Index Sentence2010-112011-122012-132013-14Community Supervision31423028Determinate Prison Sentence17242127Life Licence2103IPP0001Total50675159 1. Time period for conviction data relates to the date of SFO notification to HMPPS not the date of conviction.2. Index sentence refers to the sentencing disposal imposed by the court which led to probation services supervision of the offender.3. The data only includes convictions for serious further offences of murder that have been notified to the national SFO Team, HMPPS.4. The data includes cases where the SFO was committed within 28 days of the end of the supervision period.5. Conviction data also includes cases where the offender committed suicide or died prior to the trial, where the judicial process concluded that they were responsible.6. The data for has been updated and may differ to any original publication due to data cleansing, re-categorising and re-grouping.7. Data Sources and Quality. We have drawn these figures from administrative IT systems which, as with some large-scale recording systems, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The number of convictions where an offender subject to probation supervision was charged with a serious further offence which resulted in a conviction for murder, for all cases notified to HMPPS between 1 April 2014 and 31 March 2016 are published at the following link: Serious_Further_Offences_2023.ods (live.com).

Armed Forces: Libya

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Libyan armed forces personnel trained at Bassingbourn barracks in 2014 were convicted of crimes; and what those crimes were.

Gareth Bacon: The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of convictions for criminal offences, however to identify offenders that were ‘Libyan armed forces personnel trained at Bassingbourn barracks’ would require examination of individual court records, which would be of disproportionate costs.

Department of Health and Social Care

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of people who received the Oxford-Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine experienced serious adverse events since it was introduced.

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people in the UK have suffered from serious adverse events from covid-19 vaccines as of 11 December 2023.

Maria Caulfield: Reports of suspected adverse reactions are collected by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) via the Yellow Card scheme. Data received through the scheme is published on the Yellow Card website including COVID-19 vaccine reports. MHRA has received over 350,000 spontaneous suspected adverse reaction reports in the United Kingdom for all COVID-19 vaccines; 192,945 of these suspected adverse reaction reports are for COVID-19 Astra Zeneca specifically, up to and including 29 November 2023.Reporters are asked to submit Yellow Card reports even if they only have a suspicion that the vaccine may have caused the adverse reaction. The existence of an adverse reaction report does not necessarily mean that the vaccine has caused the reaction. It is not possible to compare the safety of different vaccines by comparing the numbers of reports. Reporting rates can be influenced by many factors including the seriousness of the adverse reactions, their ease of recognition and the extent of use of a particular vaccine. Reporting can also be stimulated by promotion and publicity about a product.Official vaccination data shows that, as of 11 September 2022, an estimated 24.9 million first doses and 24.2 million second doses of the Oxford-Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine had been administered. Official vaccination data is no longer routinely published for all UK nations, with data for first and second doses no longer reported beyond 11 September 2022 as regional data was no longer available. As of 22 February 2023, 60,900 third or booster doses of the Oxford-Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine had been administered.

Miscarriage: Bereavement Counselling

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department is taking steps to improve the provision of (a) mental health support and (b) other care for patients who have experienced early pregnancy loss.

Maria Caulfield: The Department’s response to the Pregnancy Loss Review sets out what actions the Government intends to take to improve the care and support women and families receive when experiencing a pre-24-week gestation baby loss. We are committed to expanding and transforming mental health services in England so that people, including those affected by the loss of a baby or traumatic birth, can get the help and support that they need, when they need it.As of February 2023, there were 35 Maternal Mental Health Services, which combine maternity, reproductive health and psychological therapy for women experiencing mental health difficulties related to their maternity experience. Services in each integrated care system area are due to be operational by March 2024.The Government funded the Stillbirths and Neonatal Death charity to work with other baby loss charities and Royal Colleges to produce and support the roll-out of a National Bereavement Care Pathway. The pathway covers a range of circumstances of a baby loss including miscarriage, stillbirth, termination of pregnancy for medical reasons, neonatal death and sudden infant death syndrome.As of 1 January 2023, 108 National Health Service trusts or 84% in England have committed to adopting the nine National Bereavement Care Pathway standards. 21 trusts and NHS England continue to push for their inclusion.

Cabinet Office

Refugees: Afghanistan

John Healey: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his planned timeline for when all eligible personnel under the (a) Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy and (b) Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme will be relocated from Pakistan to the UK.

Johnny Mercer: The UK has made an ambitious and generous commitment to help at-risk people in Afghanistan and, so far, we have brought around 24,600 people to safety, including over 21,600, people eligible for the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) schemes, as of September 2023. The Government is committed to relocating all eligible persons who remain in Pakistan and third countries as soon as possible.

Cabinet Office: Power Failures

Sarah Olney: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether there have been any power cuts on their Department's property in each of the last three years.

Alex Burghart: For the purposes of this answer, we are interpreting power cuts to mean unplanned loss of power to a building or floor of a building.We can confirm from the information available, that there have been two incidents in the specified period:10 South Colonnade, London, where Cabinet Office is a tenant, 2023.Cheylesmore House, Coventry, 2023.In both incidents, communication to affected users was swift and continuous thus keeping people fully informed of the status of the incident. Post events, lessons learnt sessions were held and where appropriate, mitigations and processes were created should future similar events take place, not just at those localities but nationally as well.

UK Integrated Security Fund

Anthony Mangnall: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department plans to retain conflict prevention and stability as a key fund-level (a) outcome and (b) priority for the new UK Integrated Security Fund following its replacement of the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund in 2024.

Alex Burghart: The UK Integrated Security Fund (ISF) was created to help address the security challenges identified in the Integrated Review Refresh, and it will retain tackling conflict and instability as a key priority.

Department for Education

Vocational Education: Internet

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the cost to the public purse was of creating the skills for careers website.

Robert Halfon: The cost to the public purse of creating the skills for careers website will be published in annual accounts in the usual way.

Further Education: Finance

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure that additional funding for pay rises for support staff in further education colleges will be used for that purpose.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to help ensure that increases in Further Education funding are used to (a) address recruitment and retention and (b) support colleges’ abilities to deliver on skills policy.

Robert Halfon: Colleges and other further education (FE) providers are responsible for setting the pay of their teaching and support staff. The government plays no role in this process.The department is investing an additional £185 million in the 2023/2024 financial year and £285 million in the 2024/25 financial year to drive forward skills delivery in the further education sector.This funding is to help colleges and other providers to address their key priorities, particularly tackling recruitment and retention issues in high-value subject areas critical to the economy.This investment is being delivered via core 16 to 19 funding, including through boosting programme cost weightings for higher-cost subject areas, as well as increasing the per-student funding rate.This investment is additional to the £125 million of funding the department has made available in the 2023/24 financial year to boost the national 16 to 19 funding rate and subject-specific funding. This means 16 to 19 providers are seeing a larger than expected increase to funding rates.For the 2023/24 academic year, there is a 8.3% increase in the average 16 to 19 programme funding per student funding compared to the 2022/23 academic year.The department is also delivering a programme to directly support the sector to recruit excellent staff, which includes a national recruitment campaign. The department is also strengthening and incentivising the uptake of initial teacher education, for example through teacher training bursaries in priority subjects worth up to £29,000 each, tax free for 2023/24.To boost recruitment and retention of teachers, the department will give early career teachers in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and technical shortage subjects, working in disadvantaged schools and colleges, up to £6,000 after tax annually on top of their pay. This will double the existing Levelling Up Premium paid to school teachers, and extend it to all FE colleges for the first time.The Spending Review 2021 set out an investment of £3.8 billion in skills across this Parliament to enable learners to access the skills and training they need to transform their lives.Each year, the department holds annual strategic conversations (ASCs) with each college in England where we meet the colleges senior leadership team. ASCs build upon the government’s response to the recommendations made in Dame Mary Ney’s Review of Financial Oversight of FE Colleges and the FE White Paper. Through the regular dialogue of ASCs and termly delivery conversations (TDCs), the department has established effective relationships with each of its statutory FE providers. This has enabled the department to develop a holistic view of each institution. With a clear focus on the priorities for development of skills provision, the ASCs and TDCs are informing both the department’s deployment of advice and practical support to colleges, and its wider policy and decision making.Investment is also continuing in leadership and management development, which supports retention of staff. The Further Education Commissioner and her team are supporting the sharing of effective practice to enable delivery to be as efficient as possible whilst remaining high quality.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Land Registry: Blockchain

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 11 December 2023 to Question 4876 and with reference to the report noted in the Answer of 27 November 2023 to Question 2866 on Land Registry: Blockchain, whether her Department is taking steps to implement blockchain technologies in areas not related to cryptoassets for finance.

Saqib Bhatti: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given in response to PQ4875. My department will continue to monitor developments in the use of both financial and non-financial applications of blockchain technology and will work with other government departments and industry to ensure we maximise its potential to spur UK growth and innovation.